Tag: leadership

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What happens when God has had enough!

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“On August 14 of that year, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king, arrived in Jerusalem. He burned down the Temple of the Lord, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. He destroyed all the important buildings in the city. Then he supervised the entire Babylonian army as they tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side.” 2 Kings‬ ‭25:8-10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What a brutal ending to Solomon’s temple and the whole city of Jerusalem. After multiple kings and years of horrible leadership and evil behavior, God brought in the foreign king of Babylon to serve justice to His own people.

Did God enjoy punishing, correcting His beloved Israel? No. Is God still good, right, just and true in having His own city rubbled to the ground? Yes. Warnings went unheeded, pleadings were met with harsh punishment on the prophets.

The kings of Israel were thoroughly stubborn enough to do their own thing and just as God had also warned them through Samuel (about Saul), kings can and will do some nasty things to have their own way. Four successive kings: Jehoahaz (23yrs old), Jehoiakim (25 yrs old), Jehoiachin (18 yrs old) and Zedekiah (21 yrs old) were all attributed this phrase, “did what was evil in the Lord’s sight….” So for 22 1/2 years Israel wasn’t just led by young inept leaders, they were stupid, cruel and wicked. It was a bad run of DNA or leadership culture that was not going to change. The last guy was the dumbest of the pack. “Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.”‬‬ And it ended badly for him! “They captured the king and took him to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced judgment upon Zedekiah. They made Zedekiah watch as they slaughtered his sons. Then they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.”

Soon after, on August 14, 586 was one of the most awful days in Israel’s history. Yep, God will o be mocked and He’s not against using the wicked (even while trying to woo and negotiate with their hearts) to get His will accomplished.

It painfully reminds me in this long season of grace and mercy because of Jesus’ sacrifice, that God is still God. He is still holy, yet still good! Evil and wickedness cannot continue unleashed without consequences, without judgment or justice.

We would not want a world, an existence or eternity where evil was ignored nor where justice was blind. Yet we are shocked when WE ourselves, in our selfishness and willful evil decisions are also judged and consequences are experienced. I’m not a king or anything even close to that, but I have some limited leadership responsibility as a pastor. It is a sobering reminder as I read Israel’s history and see reflections of our humanity in these young kings decisions and of course, the final outcome.

PRAYER:

Dad,
Whew, what a gut check on this one. I’m not sure I think of the consequences of my decisions often enough. And not just how they effect my life, my family (poor Zedekiah’s sons!) but how they effect a larger group of people that I have influence over. The accountability to my actions are certainly overwhelming. I need, we need, your grace and power to live as Paul told young Timothy, an oversee must live above reproach.

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Deborah, the singing judge.

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song: “Israel’s leaders took charge, and the people gladly followed. Praise the Lord! “Listen, you kings! Pay attention, you mighty rulers! For I will sing to the Lord. I will make music to the Lord, the God of Israel.”
‭‭                                             Judges‬ ‭5:1-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Actually it was a duet. Samuel tells us, “Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song.” I’ve never heard a leadership song that sounded like a bold proclamation. Leaders took charge and people gladly followed. Sounds simple right?

Leadership is so interesting. First, I believe that people WANT others to lead. Leadership is hard. It’s hard because of the second reason, and it’s absolutely necessary, but difficult.

People also want to criticize others leadership. It’s hard and necessary because leaders love consensus and momentum, but the they also love friction – just enough opposition to make an idea even better, but not enough to lag or drag the whole idea, project or motion to failure. I also believe that most people do not want to lead because there is a big price to pay. The price is possible failure, or figuring out how to fix a plan WHILE it’s in motion. There’s a common phrase when it comes to new ideas, you feel like you are “building the plane while it’s flying.” There’s no amount of planning or foreseeing every detail that guarantees a successful flight. There’s also the pressure of an idea, plan or product working in real life – not theory.

For its success – it MUST SHIP. Software companies take a lot of heat for what’s called “beta” products. At some point, the software must ship and that’s exactly the point all the bugs (problems) show up. So often there’s 1.0, 2.0, 3 and so on. With small 2.1 or 3.5 improvements. Here in Judges Deborah and Barak break out in a leadership chorus. Whatever they were doing, it must have been successful. Israel’s leaders led and people followed. Write it down, sing a song about it, but certainly celebrate those moments.

PRAYER:

​Dad,
Leading others is so exciting, yet so full of its own ups, downs, goods and bads. I can understand why people don’t want to do it, it is MUCH easier to sit back and say things like, “someone should do something!” And, even criticism is easier.

The problems with a plan or idea just seem to JUMP out at folks who are not actually responsible to make something work. That part can be frustrating for me. I have made a commitment over the past five years to not only lead more and better, but not let my personality or character hold me back from pushing forward. I know you are with me and help me in so many ways. Thank you for those times.

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7 Words to Lead By

Reading Time: 5 minutes

7 Words to Lead By

1. Think

Thinking takes time.

Time to ponder.

Time for wonder.

Time to un-focus.

The brain works better when it’s not crowded with multiple thoughts or priorities. The brain loves to free think – enjoying a beautiful scenery, smelling a pungent spice, hearing a bird sing. How many times have you had to quit obsessing over something specific to get to an answer – like that singer’s name or the title of a movie? The best ideas come when we are a little distracted by a grand experience and playfully relaxed.

Leaders think and take time to do so.

2. Listen

Listening is not just a skill, it’s a gift. Listening allows a leader to learn from others.

Learn what’s important to others. Learn wisdom through a friends experience. Even laugh at someone else’s funny mistake – making a note not to do what they did.

Leaders listen before speaking, not preparing something to say while listening.

3. Learn

Learning is the curiosity of life, it’s interest in current news as well as cyclical history.

Learn from the rich and the poor, the bright and the simple. Learn because it’s good for your brain and your soul. Learn because it’s good for your best friend, your sons and daughters and those who choose to look up to you. It’s not about showing off with useless facts or snotty knowledge – it’s about a passion of exploration.

Leaders are life-long learners, humble and curious.

4. Read

I heard someone say (probably John Maxwell) “Leaders are readers” and I knew it was true but I wasn’t good at picking, reading and actually FINISHING a book. Then I had a edu-piphany – aka – Master’s Degree.

One of my professors, Roger Hueser would say, “you’re studying to master a subject, shouldn’t you know the subject?” or something like that. I was forced to read, process and write far more than I ever imagined. Going through five thick books every semester did something interesting to me. After graduating and a short sabbatical of no reading what-so-ever I found reading enjoyable!

Now it’s fun to pick, read, finish and process a book.

I love books that move me to action – oh, do not read Bob Goff‘s book, Love Does unless you want to actually do something. I read that guy’s book and gave away my car!

I love books that make me interact with the author. That means either agreeing or disagreeing in a way that lights my brain on fire. That happened with Jedd Medefind’s book, Upended. I highlighted, underlined and wrote notes more in that one book than any book I’ve read. I also love flip-your-brain books like: Heroic Leadership, Richard Stearns, The Hole in the Gospel, When Helping Hurts, or Made to Stick.  Reading words has a way of  allowing ideas to wander into your thoughts and allows you to see things from a different perspective.

Leaders read because they recognize there is a much bigger world out there.

5. Give

Generosity keeps us from becoming who we really don’t want to be. Who really wants to be a stingy, selfish, self absorbed individual? Giving allows us to push back against our own nature – well, maybe it’s just my nature.

Yes, give involves money but it’s not at all limited to that. Give means generosity of time, talent and treasure.

Time has become the most expensive thing I can give and the absolute hardest one to practice. I’m not financially rich, but I am dirt poor when it comes to time.

Talent. If I have learned something that would be beneficial to a friend I want to give them the tip or the trick. I want them to see how easy it is to master tech or wire up a network or get rid of pesky program bloat. If it saves you money or time or heartache – I want you to have it! Hey, once I learned how to share French Fries the rest became easy.

Treasure. I have enough. Whew, there I said it. I did not say, I have everything I want or even need – but I have enough. I still would much rather be in the position of giving instead of receiving. I believe that servant leaders are givers. My life is not proprietary, it is not my own. I exist to give more than I was given – which becomes an impossibility. I’ll keep trying though.

Leaders are generous because they know they are where they are because others gave to them.

6. Lead

Heres a list of things I believe about the word lead:

  • Decisions must be made to move forward.
  • Conflict is a sign that change is inevitable.
  • Feelings get hurt no matter how “good” or “necessary” decisions might be.
  • Great relationships all go through “tunnels of chaos” (thanks Bill Hybel). I used to think it always had to be conflict, but chaos describes it much better. So don’t let relationship issues be an excuse for not leading.

Lead also means: no one really does understand, facing fears, taking criticism as a compliment, change, making hard decisions, receiving input without losing site of the goal, getting things done, ship (from Lynchpin), sometimes letting go of good people, not allowing dysfunctional people rule the final decision, not taking everything personal, more we than me, more wins than losses, more apologies than excuses, more responsibility than blame, more truth than consensus, more fierce conversations than gossip, more face to face than emails, more open doors, open meetings, open feelings and open ideas and honest numbers.

Leading is adaptability and calm in chaos.

Leading is only as good as it’s goal.

If you are leading a field trip to the homeless shelter, a ball game or a church service don’t disrespect followers by ranting about low turnout. Why are you asking them to die for those things?

But if you are changing the world or culture, bringing love and justice to the broken and revolutionizing your community…. by all means – throw down the challenge to come and die. Lead well, boost someone else above you or die trying. Or a more direct quote…

Lead, follow or get out of the way – Thomas Paine.

7. Love

A very long time ago (in the 1500’s) there were a couple guys who became leaders. One by climbing the political ladder and scratching his way to the top, the other lived a horrible life, experienced tragedy and had a conversion experience.

Niccolò Machiavelli felt that “princes” should rule through power, fear and even brutality if necessary. Wikipedia’s article states, “Machiavelli believed that public and private morality had to be understood as two different things in order to rule well. As a result, a ruler must be concerned not only with reputation, but also must be positively willing to act immorally at the right times. As a political theorist, Machiavelli emphasized the occasional need for the methodical exercise of brute force or deceit.”

In the same time period Ignatius of Loyola initiated a society (Jesuits) based leadership on four simple values: Self Awareness, Ingenuity, Love and Heroism. Chris Lowney in Heroic Leadership writes, “We perform at our best in supportive, encouraging, and positively charged environments so we must create a place where we have greater love than fear.”

So interesting that Jesuits trained all recruits to lead, convinced that all leadership begins with self leadership.

Two leaders, two very different models. And yet, there are many leaders in business, churches and non profits that often choose one model over the other. Love is honestly a more difficult way to lead. Especially because fear and power/intimidation has seemingly quick results.

Love takes risks and dives into the messy recesses of relationships, personalities and even private lives. Love makes decisions based on what is good and right and kind.

Leaders love because, as it turns out, it does matter how you get there!